WATERBURY, Conn. — In the months since her older sister Victoria Soto died in the Sandy Hook shooting in December 2012, Carlee Soto-Parisi says she learned for the first time that many people believed the massacre never actually happened. “It’s painful, it’s devastating, it’s crippling,” Soto-Parisi, 29, said Tuesday in Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury. “You can’t grieve properly because you’re constantly defending yourself, defending your family, your loved ones.” Soto-Parisi was among the first to testify Tuesday in the lawsuit filed by Sandy Hook first responders and several victims’ families against Infowars founder and host Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist who has long perpetuated a lie that the shooting was prank. conducted by the government so they can take away personal firearms. This is the second of three lawsuits Jones has faced from Sandy Hook relatives over his lies about the massacre. He was found liable for defamation for failing to deliver documents in all three lawsuits. The trials determine how much he owes his victims in compensation. Earlier this year he was ordered to pay $4.1 million in restitution in a Texas lawsuit and $45.2 million in punitive damages (though that figure will likely be capped due to Texas law). Soto-Parisi is pictured in one of the most famous images to emerge from the tragedy, crying on the phone after rushing to the scene. Twenty children and six adults were killed on December 14, 2012. Carlee Soto uses a phone to get information about her sister, Victoria Soto, a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., after gunman Adam Lanza killed 26 people inside the school, including 20 children. Victoria Soto, 27, was among the dead. AP Photo/Jessica Hill She said people who shared Jones’ belief that the shooting was exaggerated analyzed the photo online, comparing it to women photographed at other tragic events such as the Boston bombing, claiming it was the same person and proof that it was the same. “crisis actor” is hired again and again. FBI agent Bill Aldenberg, who also testified Tuesday, shared a similar story about how Sandy Hook deniers claimed he and David Wheeler, who lost his son Ben in the shooting, were themselves crisis actors. Aldenberg said he found video after video on the Internet of people comparing a photo of him responding to the shooting to photos of Wheeler. Aldenberg said that while he feels he can take the online harassment and questions about whether he was a real FBI agent, he aches for the pain Wheeler caused. “He’s suffered enough,” Aldenberg said. It’s not just online trolls who have harassed Aldenberg and the victims’ families. Soto-Parisi said she has encountered people who have openly questioned the validity of shooting her in the face, including a classmate she’s known since high school and a fellow military spouse. The fear of meeting one of these questioners has led her to disown her sister at times, even though she is proud of her and believes she “died a hero.” She said at times over the years, when people have asked her if she’s related to Victoria Soto, she’s said no, just because she’s not sure what kind of reaction she’d get. “Sometimes I said no.” I wasn’t sure if you were on my side. Did you think I was an actress? I said no, I’m not related to her, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Sometimes it was easier,” Soto-Parisi said. Testimony will continue Wednesday and the trial is expected to last about five weeks. Jones himself is scheduled to testify, but it is unclear when he will take the stand.
